Over 1,323 reviews forAuburn Deck Builders from people just like you.

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responded to our request for information within the day. We set up an appointment and he showed up promptly as planned and spent time discussing" ...More the details of their work, our project needs, measuring, and answering our questions.

sent us a very thorough bid with drawings and details within days. The deck needed much more work than we originally thought, and we have decided to delay the project. However, when we decide to do it, they will be the first company we contact.

-Ralph B.

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claims to be Florida's leading provider for waterfront design and construction. That's a pretty big claim, but after working with" ...More

and his team for the past few months, I have no reason to doubt it. I had a rough idea of what I wanted done to upgrade my pool and waterfront areas, but it was

who was able to take those ideas and create a beautiful design. Then it was up to

's superb construction crew to bring those ideas to life, and they were up to the task. The final result is absolutely amazing. I could not be more pleased.

A wood deck can be a wonderful place to spend time outdoors, but over time, weather can cause the structure to deteriorate. Learning how to repair common deck problems can help keep your structure in top shape for years to come.

Examine the difference between decks and porches and decide which one might be right for you and your family. Consider cost, lifestyle requirements, the layout of your property and other factors for the right extension of your living space.

Installing a small set of deck stairs is a do-it-yourself challenge most homeowners can take on by themselves. Here's a step-by-step guide to attaching a set of stairs safely and securely to your deck.

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Angie's Answers

As stated by others: You get what you pay for. Many contractors no longer use employees. The cost/benefit ratio is gone by the time worker's comp. insurance, unemplyment and other taxes are paid. Especially with the high turnover in our industry. Many, myself included, have our guys set up as sub-contractors. That means even if the job is only for a day the duties have been outlined and a set pay to complete those duties has been established from the onset. It's a better way to manage costs once I got used to it. Also, it means I can operate cheaper and not have to charge as much to the customer. My agreements with my guys, which they sign, make it clear that I nor the homeowner are responsible for their safety and medical care should a problem arise and that all parties are relieved of any such obligation. If you hire a contractor who follows this growing practice ask to see a copy of his sub-contractor agreement.

That being said, a legitimate contractor still has operating cost which vary by area and how they run their business. I break even at $150/day not including labor and materials so I've got to charge more than that to make money. To keep the math simple, if I'm paying $250 for a pne day job in labor plus another $300 in materials and $150 operating costs I've got to charge $700 to the customer to break even. That's if I'm only doing one job a day which is why most of us manage several at a time. The point I'm trying to make is that someone with the necessary knowledge and experience to build you a safe deck is not going to be cheap. Knowledge accompanies success which costs money.

I've repaired or restructured several decks built by handymen who should find another profession. Ask yourself this question when hiring someone for this project: Would I trust this person to build my house? If the answer is no you need to find someone else. The deck is just as important. It's where your family, friends, kids are going to gather and interact. If it isn't structurally sound it can collapse causing injury or even death. One last word on decks: Always screw a deck together, don't nail it.

I agree with Jim Casper - after about 50 years of dealing with weathered wood finishing both in my homes and in the construction business, it comes down to about 90% preparation, 10% the finishing. If you do not prep the wood right, any moisture, mold, etc in the wood will destroy whatever you put over it.

High-build finishes like paint and epoxies and, from reading the Rustoleum flyer on this new product that too, work by trying to make an impenetrable surface and depend on a very good bond with the surface, AND no water getting under them. Because they are thick and are designed to provide a waterproof surface, unfortunately where water gets under them they are just as good or better at keeping it from evaporating, so you get fungal growth, blistering, and peeling.

Unfortunately, on deck and most outdoor applications except siding the surface will get nicked, scratched and otherwise develop leaks in short order. Water will therefore get into the underlying wood, and because it entered through small cracks and scratches, does not have any airflow to make it evaporate, so it sits there and breaks the finish bond to the wood (causing peeling and blisters), and promotes decay. That is why new deck boards and siding and trim that have been heavily or multi-coat painted on all 4 sides, thinking that will give the best protection, only last a few years versus the usual 10-20 years or so for boards that are painted top and sides only.

The full sun and hot conditions will, of course, cause more thann normal heating of dark colored painted decking. I had one instance where I was doing an independent appraisal of a very large commercial deck at a government facility, and in 85-90 degree daytime temps, in the sushine the chocolate brown deck surface temp was 150 degrees, and the paint was softening so much it stuck to the bottom of your shoes a couple of months after application.

As Jim said, the studies pretty clearly show that a breathable penetrating stain gives the best life, after plain ACA/CCA (copper chromium variations - the green stuff) treated wood. Penetrating stains, properly applied, do NOT seal in the moisture, they inhibit its entry and (when dark colored) help protect against sun damage to the wood and finish, but still breathe enough to let moisture escape on dry days. For my money, I will only use petroleum distillate (paint thinner cleanup) products, as they penetrate into the wood much better. Water based ones immediately start swelling the wood pores, so it blocks further penetration of the stain, which while cleanup is a bit easier, totally defeats the purpose of a PENETRATING stain or sealer.

I would recommend against any sort of waterproofing sealer, as they trap the water just like paint, and I have never seen one that is effective for 2 years.

My personal preference, though it limits the architectural coloration possibilities, is ground-contact rated copper compound treated wood (NOT the Wolmanized brown product), which comes green initially but can be retreated with either green or brown solution or can be liquid colorized darker (though not easily to a specific tone) using either of those as a base. My practice is to redo the treatment before installation to ensure thorough treatment, as from the mill it commonly has skips where boards contacted each other or where stacking seperators laid on it, and the ends are commonly very poorly done. This is done after cutting to length, as cut ends have to be retreated anyway. A simple short deck cleaner soak followed by a light pressure washing and brush or roller re-treating of ONLY the TOP surface every 10 years or so has, for me, reduced visible weathering of the boards and beams to negligible.

Assuming you buy the right size door to fit the rough opening, and that your old door is not a size that is no longer made, and that you get the correct depth and transition adapters and sills and flashing and trim and seals and such, and that you transport it home without distorting and damaging it, then removal and disposal of old one and install new one probably about $250-400 depending on how well it fits, number of transition and similar pieces that have to be assembled (from 1 or 2 for some doors to as many as 30 on others).

The laundry list of things at the start WAS intended to intimidate you - I would say not 1 in 25 homeowners who buy a new patio door have bought it the right size for the rough opening and have everything needed to install it - the contractor almost invariably has to go get materials or parts to complete the installation - sometimes waiting weeks for factory adapters that are needed or missing parts AFTER the original door has already been taken out.

I would question why you are going to probably spend as much installing a door that may not do the job for you as the cost of the door. I would hazard at least half of people who go buy a $250-400 cheap door at a box store are sorely disappointed within months - due to poorly fitted parts, bad or non-existent seals causing drafts or water leaks, fogging or breaking glass, etc.

I would recommend you assess your needs, in conjunction with your installer find a decent and reputable brand unit to fit that need and that fits the loction right, and probably pay 50% more installed but have something that you might actually be happy with. Oh - BTW - your best installers generally will not install the cheapest box store units because they do not want the callbacks, so many times the quality of the installer who will actually do the job for you at a price you are willing to pay gives you a job that is - you guessed it, worth what you paid for it.

Deck Building reviews in Auburn

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Did not finish job. Did not supervise or inspect subcontractors work. Did not return money paid to him for contracted work. Repeatedly did not show up for work when promised. Excuses included sick. Family sickness, distant relative sick, and my personal favorite-he had a rash. I checked and this company has NO license. Subcontractors work had to be ...More redone. Subcontractors damaged walls, refrigerator and freezer . He agreed to refund our money by February 15, 2015 and we never heard from him again. Buyer beware.”

- Pat M.

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I am not a customer nor will I ever be a customer. we have witnessed this company clear a neighbors leaves in the fall by blowing them into another neighbors yard. today, they cleared the driveway of 7 inches of snow right onto my sidewalk. He stopped after I started recording him doing it. I would not recommend this company. ”

- Travis H.

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We needed to have an old screened porch removed and a new one built in its place. The work was completed in a timely manner, and the end result was a beautiful porch.”

- Karen S.

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Gentleman came in and looked at the fireplace and knew exactly what needed to be done since there was quite a bit of soot in and around the fireplace. Within a half hour the fireplace the major build up was cleaned and issue causing it fixed. Have not had a problem since.”

- Gregory S.

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was amazing!
We had purchased the windows from another company, but that company doesn't do the installation. They did, however, recommend

. Since they had good reviews on Angieslist, we called them for an estimate. For the estimate they were punctual, professional, and an excellent price. They ...More estimated that it may take 3-4 days, depending upon whether they found any problems when they removed the old windows.

It took a little longer than expected to get on their schedule for the installation (one of their window trim guys was out sick), but, once we established a date,

was there when they promised. Their crew was professional, they cleaned up after themselves, and their work was beautifully done. The new trim pieces they had to put in (the windows were thinner than the originals, so they needed about 1 1/2 inch trim added around the window) were exactly the same color as the original , so it isn't obvious where the new trim is.
We will definitely use them again if possible!”

- Lynda T.

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We did our best to be flexible with Premier on the initial construction and timing, as it initially took a bit longer to complete all the activities but we believed we had a good relationship with Premier for the build, so we did not push on the initial timeline, hoping that it would result in the best structure. Most of the initial construction looked ...More to be going well at the time and they were pretty responsive to any questions or concerns I had.
The reason for the negative

is because within a year, the mudroom structure, in the winter time, started to come off of the wall (likely due to uneven frost heave), essentially shifting enough to cause cracks in the wall, develop a gap between the mudroom and home, and the worse part, not allow the door to close anymore because the frame around the door shifts to and is not square.
Premier (

) initially acknowledged an issue existed as I had provided notification within the warranty time period (I did put a contract in place with them). They mentioned they would come back and resolve this issue.
But a couple months went by and when I was finally able to get in touch, I was notified that Premier was no longer going to honor the fact they said they would fix the issue because it was due to an "act of god" due to an unusual deep freeze in Chicago and that I would receive no repairs. In addition, they mentioned they closed their last company legally to reopen a new one making it more difficult for legal action.
While I didn't want to have to write this review, it was obvious then, and now even more obvious, that it was not any "act of god" and just typical Chicago winter cold weather as all the issues are recurring each year and the door still does not close again currently - likely stemming from not accounting properly for the frost heave. At this point, I am guessing Premier will not be surprised at the negative review.

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- Vijay Y.

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In October 31,2014 we signed the contract with home works and paid the first part and when everything was clear they were already ordering the counter top laminate that I wanted and since that would take the longest and

sent me the list so I could pick out my items and I was done shopping within a day or two and everything ...More was bought.

Home Works came in on December the 10,2014 and started to remove the counter tops and cabinets to replace the flooring and found that there was sub flooring laid wrong and they corrected and had the flooring in place that night so we could walk in the kitchen and everybody was doing a job and then they started out on the deck tearing the old deck not to code and making the new deck to code and everything was great and moving along. When the counter top arrived we noticed it was cut to short Home works ordered a new laminate but even with that little issue they spoke to us and we agreed that to have it fixed right . All the areas that were being remodel had at least one to seven people working on it and things were accomplished in a timely matter. I would recommend Home Works to anyone who need things done quickly and they were right down the Middle cost for us and described that to us at the signing of the contract.”

- Billi A.

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They left a big trench from the concrete truck in the yard, They left materials and didn't clean up. They said they would fix the yard but never did.”